Church profile ¢ Faith Methodist Church By the Faith Methodist Church Communications & Media Ministry / Photos courtesy of Faith MC
FAITH in Action Visit faithmc.sg to find out more about our church!
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aith Methodist Church (Faith) turns 55 this year. Since its humble beginnings in the ’60s, Faith has always sought to uphold its vision of “transforming lives, changing the world” through practical acts of love and service to others. Its robust outreach and evangelistic programmes include Adopt-a-Block (AAB), G.O.L.D. (God of Love Delivery) food delivery initiative, and Alpha sessions that target Seekers and pre-believers. In recent years, our focus has expanded to include media outreach, with one avenue being the livestream of our church services on special occasions. Since 2017, the church had explored this aspect of online outreach to serve the needs of members who were overseas or unable to come to church physically due to family commitments or health reasons. Our first livestream took place at the Wesleyan Covenant Holy Communion Service on 31 Dec 2017. Subsequently, the church also livestreamed its combined services on Good Friday, Resurrection Sunday and Christmas. Over time, the livestreams were enhanced, thanks to the equipment and expertise of the staff and volunteers which God provided to the church.
Connecting the Church in COVID In Feb 2020, Faith organised a session to share our experience in conducting livestream services. Topics that were covered included media equipment and camera angles, the technology behind a livestream, broadcast messaging, as well as copyright and licensing matters. 81 participants from 51 churches attended the session and more details can be found in the April 2020 issue of Methodist Message. This sharing proved very timely as the world grappled with the pandemic, and churches in Singapore came to a standstill when the shutters closed in March 2020, following the restrictions by the local authorities. Within a short time, Faith rallied as many resources as possible in order to keep members connected to
church life. Personal phone calls, planned visitations and pastoral care measures were put in place to support the drastic lifestyle change, particularly for older folk with little to no access to technology and online devices.
Going online In addition to personal pastoral care, one of Faith’s priorities was the continuation of our Sunday Service for the congregation, this time via livestream. The transition to church online was not a novel concept as Faith had already been livestreaming some services pre-COVID-19. It was a matter of adapting to the changing restrictions imposed by the local authorities, and gathering the necessary tools, equipment and people to continue church life online. There were many challenges encountered with the weekly livestreams but with God’s grace, we were able to pivot quickly each time the restrictions changed, ensuring that we provided the best online experience to the congregation. Looking back, we are thankful to God for the leadership at Faith in supporting the development of the church’s media capabilities long before COVID-19 struck. Without their foresight, the Communications & Media ministry could not have accomplished what it had over the last year, while working together with the other ministries.
Moving forward Today, Faith continues to livestream its 11.15 a.m. Service on YouTube every Sunday, and manages the livestream from a dedicated media control room. The volunteers operate the five onsite cameras, doing their best to “channel” the heartbeat of the church and the presence of God, into people’s homes. By the grace of God, Faith is forging a path ahead in its online efforts and invites you to pray for the church in such times. All glory to God for His provision and strength! 1
https://message.methodist.org.sg/the-power-of-media-in-a-church METHODIST MESSAGE April 2021
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